Prized Podcasts

Until last year, the Podcast app sat neglected in my “Extras” folder along with the other pre-installed apps like “Stocks” and “Calculator” – until I finally opened the app after getting sick of my Spotify playlists. Once my penny-pinching self realized podcasts were completely free, I was hooked. Whether I’m listening while falling asleep, driving to pick up my sister or in need of inspiration, it’s hard to hit pause on my new discovery. Since there are thousands of podcasts available, I’ve outlined some of my favorites that entertain, love and inspire to enlighten the podcast-deprived.

This American Life: To Be Entertained

I love storytelling, and NPR’s “This American Life” masters this art. Ira Glass, the program’s host, asks all the right questions. Glass cracks the exterior of every guest – you can hear tears through their choking voices. Glass is genuinely interested in his subjects, and his passion for the story spreads to the audience – I feel like I am sitting in the room with them.

Typically, each episode discusses a central topic, broken in to three different “acts” that tell stories related to that theme – whether it be breakups, coincidences or regrets.

Other times the episode tells one in-depth story. One of my favorites, “360: Switched at Birth,” tells the story of two newborns who grow up in the wrong families after being accidentally switched in the nursery. Unlike the ABC TV drama, the podcast is 100 percent real. The episode follows both families and dives into the perils that came out of growing up with a child, and parents, who weren’t biologically their own.

Since episodes are only available on the podcast app for four weeks after being published, I decided to buy their app for $2.99 so I could access their entire archive.

With over 600 episodes, it’s difficult to find the right one, but the app has features that make it much easier. With playlists ranging from “New to This American Life” and “Funny Stories” to monthly staff picks and recommendations, the app makes finding the perfect episode for your mood a lot less overwhelming.

“This American Life” has something for everyone — it’s a podcast about life, after all — and that is why it’s the first one I recommend.

Favorite episodes:

630: Things I mean to Know

634: Human Error in Volatile Situations

241: 20 Acts in 60 Minutes

Modern Love: To Love

What I love about “Modern Love,” a podcast produced by NPR and the New York Times, is that it goes beyond the traditional idea of love. There are plenty of gushy, sometimes cliché love poems, but this program dives into something much deeper.

Each episode is a true poem from submissions by regular people, read by famous actors and actresses. The host, Meghna Chakrabarti, introduces the episode, and then steps back to let the actor read the poem, allowing the story to be told with conviction and passion that draws listeners in.

From “My Husband Turned into My Wife,” a story about a woman’s experience standing by her husband as he transitioned into a woman, to “A Heart of Gold,” a story about a woman and her unlikely pet, the podcast explores every aspect of love – including a lack of it, which is nice for those of us who aren’t always in perfect relationships.

“Friends Without Benefits” is devoted to the familiar romantic obstacle of falling in love with a best friend who doesn’t reciprocate, and it refreshingly (spoiler alert) doesn’t end with them falling madly in love. It’s real.

At the end of most poems, the real-life author answers a few questions about the poem. Hearing how the author’s love life has evolved since the poem was written is my favorite part — it’s refreshing. The where-are-they-now conclusion brings the audience back to reality.

Even if you typically hate romance and cringe at the slightest PDA, you’ll find something in “Modern Love” to relate to.

Favorite episodes:

19: Friends Without Benefits

59: The End of Small Talk

94: How The ‘Dining Dead’ Got Talking Again

Everything Happens – To Be Inspired

I found “Everything Happens” by scanning the Podcast app’s recommended list. Usually, I use podcasts to fall asleep, but this one kept me awake for an entire 30-minute episode, and after it was over, I laid in bed thinking about it..

“Everything Happens” is a newer podcast release hosted by Kate Bowler, a young mother and professor who was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35. Since its launch in January, Bowler has released five episodes, and I’ve listened to every one of them religiously.

Bowler interviews people about what they’ve learned in dark times, and does so with compassion and humor that lays a foundation for honest and sometimes difficult conversations. Her experience with cancer allows her to relate to her subjects, which makes them feel comfortable to tell their own soul-gripping stories.

In “Lucy Kalanithi: Costly Love,” Bowler talks with widow Lucy Kalanithi about love and her final moments with her former husband. They talk about how life is not defined by one’s last days, and how that understanding helped the widow cope with losing him.

In the mere 30 minutes it took me to listen to “Costly Love,” I can honestly say my life perspective changed. Kalanithi recounts asking her husband if he wanted to have kids, and she was surprised when he said yes. She points out that leaving kids behind will make dying harder than it needs to be, and he responded with, “Wouldn’t it be great if it did?” This encounter is heartbreaking, but I came away with a refreshing reminder that life is finite, which in the midst of senioritis and depressing winter cold, was very important for me to hear.

Each episode puts the stress of college, schoolwork and other problems into perspective and gives inspiration to listeners. If you’re in need of inspiration, a good cry or some thought-provoking conversation, “Everything Happens” will not disappoint.

Favorite Episodes:

Ray Barfield: This is Going to Hurt Just a Little

Lucy Kalanithi: Costly Love